Orthodontic treatment is often directed to correcting the alignment or position of teeth, for example dental crowding, flaring, irregularity in tooth alignment, unpleasing tooth appearance, difficulty in chewing, among other issues.
One tool employed by orthodontists for these purposes is the orthodontic bracket. An orthodontic bracket attaches to a tooth, and holds an orthodontic archwire. Attachment of the bracket to the tooth transmits a force to the tooth when a resilient orthodontic archwire is bent or twisted, and then brought to engage with the bracket. A mechanical force system may thus be constructed to generate force sequentially to the teeth, thus directing the teeth to their desired positions.
Orthodontic brackets engage the archwire into an archwire slot by ligation using elastomeric or wire ligatures wrapped around protrusions (e.g., “wings”) of the bracket. Ligatures or some form of fastening means are utilized to secure the archwire in the bracket slot to prevent the archwire from being dislodged and thus to maintain the position of the active archwire around the dental arch.
In existing bracket designs, ligation generates a non-homogeneous force during sliding, and does not provide a clear force-feedback indication to the installer of the bracket that the archwire has reached a secure position in the bracket. Another drawback of conventional designs is that deformation of the bracket and/or archwire may result in difficulties installing or securing the bracket by ligation.
Advantages of an improved orthodontic bracket design as described herein will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.